Tag Archives: sweaters

Big Mending

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I guess I’m on a mending streak here. My dad was in town a few weeks ago, and he brought his favorite sweater with him. (Hi Dad!) Halfway through the visit he showed me the elbows on his sweater, and they were… disreputable. But, that’s what happens when you wear a sweater every day for years. (Even if you put leather elbow patches on it.)

Elbow 1- Bad.

Elbow 2- Very bad.

He asked me if it was fixable, and I said yes, of course! But after a little investigating I realized that even if I was very careful, the holes/runs were so big that no matter what I did, wouldn’t be invisible. But Dad said that he didn’t mind, and in fact, he asked me to use bright red yarn to fix it! I love a little bit of visible mending, so I got to work.

I used a crochet hook to fix the bigger runs (again, not perfectly- the sweater was commercially made, so I didn’t have the ability to completely match the knitted pattern), then brought in the red yarn.

I picked up stitches along the bottom edge of the holes, and started working back and forth in stockinette stitch. Every RS row, I picked up a stitch from the sweater at the beginning and end of the row (and sometimes in the middle, too), and worked a K2tog with the red and the gray yarns.

The K2togs allowed me to attach the patches as I was knitting them, so there wasn’t any sewing! And, as a bonus, it let me increase and decrease the size of the patches to pretty precisely cover the thin parts of the sweater.

Is it perfect? Not exactly. But I do love the cozy charm of a well-worn and well-patched sweater. And Dad will (hopefully!) get to keep wearing his sweater for years to come.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve mended?

Spring!

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It’s definitely spring around here! I can tell because:

  1. My kid won’t stop talking about his birthday.
  2. I’m dying to get out and start planting the garden.
  3. I’m constantly sneezing.

What’s an allergy-ridden, indoor kid to do when the weather turns? Oh that’s right. Knit! (Or at least daydream about knitting.)

If I had infinite time and energy, I’d definitely make myself a lovely new spring sweater. Shall we window-shop through Ravelry together?

Rift by Jacqueline Cieslak

Such a stylish-yet-comfy silhouette. I love the subtle shoulder and hem details, and the slightly-textured yarn she chose for the samples. Can you imagine it in a cotton-wool blend? Or better yet: a nubbly slik? Ugh. To die for.

Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers

Or what about this darling little number? Can you imagine a more perfect springtime cardigan? I love the sweet little shoulder details. Plus the wool+mohair combo? Perfection!

Dustland Sweater by Stephen West

If I’m being honest, it’s still pretty chilly around here (despite what I want to believe), so maybe this is the best way to go. A lovely, textured pullover in a fantastic spring color. I usually like to switch up the colors of sweaters I make, but honestly, I can’t imagine this in a better color. That electric lime might just be exactly what I need in my wardrobe.

If you could magically knit up a sweater right now, what would you make?

Inspiration: Sweaters I Wish I Was Knitting

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I’m really having trouble getting inspired about knitting these days. Or at least I’m not feeling inspired about my knitting.

Like I said last week, I’ve run through most of the fun yarn in my stash, or at least the easy-to-repurpose yarn. Just about all the sweater-quantities have been used up, and I’m even running low on groups of the same yarn base in different colors. Sure, I could cobble together little bits and bobs of different yarns into a sweater… but that’s a lot of effort. And who knows how that’d turn out.

It’s been waaaay too long since I set foot in a yarn store. All I want to do is go to my LYS to pick out a new, fancy sweater pattern and go a little wild picking yarn, spending way too much time agonizing about color and texture, only to go home with the same oatmeal-colored wool that I always gravitate toward.

Sigh.

(Also, as I write this, I’m 2 weeks out from having a newborn in the house, so starting a new fancy sweater is an utterly stupid idea. Which isn’t to say that it will stop me.)

Anyway, I figured that instead of starting a new pattern, I might just write about the patterns I wish I were knitting.

First up: A sweater I find utterly beautiful, and one (if I’m being honest) I would never actually work up (baby and pandemic notwithstanding). It’s utterly gorgeous- those colors! I would be so tempted to pick different colors, which would take about 30 hours of me second-guessing myself the whole time. I mean, it uses 14 (FOURTEEN!) different colors. It’s so freaking gorgeous. It would drive me up the wall to knit. Maybe I can find someone to knit it for me? Ha!

Foxthoughts Pullover by Hiroko Payne / The Hare And The Crow

As beautiful as that sweater is, if I’m being honest, what I’m really itching for is a big ol’ cabled/textured sweater. I really want to get my needles deep into a sweater like this. 5 (or so) different cables? Yes please. Lots of seed stitch? Yep. All-over texture? Definitely. Cool saddle-shoulder detail? Sign me up.

(Plus, it would look pretty great in my “signature” oatmeal/gray.)

Yule Sweater by Anne Podlesak

Or maybe I could combine the two. Why not have color and texture? Why not jump on the Shifty bandwagon? Heck, I might even be able to actually find enough scrap yarn in my stash to cobble together a workable version of this bad boy. Though, I shudder to think about all the ends I’d need to weave in…

Shifty by Andrea Mowry

I’ll get to go to a yarn store again some day, and I’ll get to knit a sweater again, too. It’s just going to be a minute. In the meantime, the daydreams will have to satisfy.

What are your current dream projects?

Big and Little

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I’ve finished a project!  Yay!  It’s a pretty cute one, too.

It’s actually a double project.  A family friend who has a little one the same age as my boy, is expecting a baby girl just about any day now. I had some extra yarn and I love an excuse to make a baby sweater.  (Seriously, they’re so fun and fast!) I whipped up a tiny little Flax Light for the little one.  (Can I extol the virtues of this pattern again?  1. It’s well-written and free! 2. It comes in literally all the sizes.  3. It’s reversible!  One less thing to have to fuss with while getting the little guys dressed.)IMG_1927_medium2

I found some matching red yarn in my stash, too.  I thought I’d make a red sweater for the big brother!  How cute would that be? But it turned out I didn’t have nearly enough for a toddler-sized sweater.  Thus, I ended up with a stripey sweater, which, honestly, I like better than if it had been a solid color.  It looks like the kind of sweater a little boy wears as he runs around the neighborhood getting into trouble. IMG_2151

After some whining about weaving in ends, I finished it up, and now the pair are all wrapped up and ready to be delivered.IMG_2156

I know the kids won’t really care about them, but I bet their parents will appreciate them.  And I think they turned out super cute!

Have you been working on any gift knitting lately?

Inspiration: Dreaming of Pullovers

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My love of pullovers is well documented, even if I haven’t said it in so many words.  I’ve written a dozen sweater patterns.  Only two of them are cardigans.

I don’t really have anything against cardigans, but there’s something just so wonderful about throwing on a pullover and being totally enveloped in lovely, warm wool.  It’s the closest I will ever come to my dream of it becoming socially acceptable to wear a blanket out and about.  Especially since the weather has started turning distinctly fall-ish around here, there’s nothing I want more than to snuggle up with a big, soft pullover, a book and a mug of steaming tea.

But, since I have a little baby now, (ahem) access is the major concern with all my outfits .  So, it’s cardigans for me for the foreseeable future.  (And cardigans worked exclusively in superwash wool, because… well… baby.)

But, I can still dream, can’t I?  I can comb through Ravelry and pick out all the pullovers I would totally be wearing if only I had the time to knit them up.

I love a simple, classic silhouette on patterns like this.  There’s nothing more versatile than a perfect, plain sweater.  As long as we’re daydreaming, I’d make seven of these in seven different colors/yarns so that I could wear a different one every day for a week. Heaven.

No Frills Sweater by PetiteKnitIngen_Dikkedarer_Sweater_4_medium2But, I might get bored making seven of the same plain sweater.  I could throw a few of these into the mix.  I love the twisted stitch details at the raglan seams and the cool, understated cable/twisted stitch pattern at the bottom.  It’s just enough to make the sweater a little fancy without being fussy.

Opteka by Isabell KraemerIMG_9756_medium2But, really, I want to make this sweater.  I’ve had my eye on it for years.  I think I even picked out yarn for it a few years ago (but then used that yarn for something else).  I don’t know why it’s so appealing to me- it’s just a basic, boxy raglan sweater with nice wide stripes.  (It has pockets too, which I like in theory, but I’d probably omit.)  Maybe it’s the 90’s kid in me; I do appreciate a good striped sweater.

Tea with Jam and Bread by Heidi Kirrmaierfullsizeoutput_a137_medium2If you could magically have a new knitted wardrobe, what would you include?  Lots of pullovers? Cardigans? Ponchos?

Inspiration: Hometowns

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I’m about to admit something very embarrassing.

In fact, maybe don’t read the rest of this post.

Especially you, Mom and Dad.

Are you gone?

OK.  Hello. My name is Allison, and I love watching The Bachelor.bachelor-2017-nick-viall-promo-pics1I know, I know.  It’s not a great show.  But, it is also kind of really great.  It’s escapism, and these days, Lord knows I need some escapism.  It’s fun to watch beautiful people interacting under such weird circumstances.  It almost feels like watching sports (or what I imagine watching sports would be like if I watched them), you can pick apart every “move” the contestants make, try to infer what’s going to happen next, and cheer when your favorite people get “points.”

I’m even in a Bachelor Fantasy League (I’m winning for now, but it all could change at any moment!), and listen to a Bachelor Podcast (Rose Buddies– which is an absolute delight that you should listen to, even if you don’t watch the show).

Tonight’s episode is the very important “Hometowns” episode, where the last four contestants take the Bachelor home to meet their parents.  It’s always suuuuper awkward, but in the best way possible.

I’m not sure who’s going to make it through this episode, but let’s talk about the remaining contestants (I accidentally typed “characters”… oops!), and assign them sweaters (because this is a knitting blog after all).  (And, I suppose I should mention the Bachelor himself.  After all,  Nick is ostensibly who the show is about, but I really couldn’t care less about him- he has all the personality of a wet paper bag. Anyway- back to the ladies.)

Meet Raven!  She’s an adorable, super cool, super confident and sweet lady from a tiny town in Arkansas.  She owns a little fashion boutique and I really want her to be my friend.

ravenI bet you’d be able to find a sweater like this one in her shop.  It’s a little funky, a little comfy, and totally trendy.  Raven would probably wear it with killer boots and a cool, attention-getting necklace.

Boxy by Joji Locatelliboxy_01_medium21Rachel is a lawyer from Dallas. She’s super smart and capable, and was just announced as next season’s Bachelorette.  (So I guess she doesn’t “win” this season, but that’s A-OK by me, because she’s too good for Nick.)rachelI’d knit this sweater for her- it’s like the fun cousin of a blazer.  Actually, I kind of want this one for myself.

Walk the Cumbria Way by Jutta von Hinterm Stein0___0_walk-the-cumbria-way-hinterm-stein_medium21And, if the last two contestants were too good for Nick, Vanessa certainly is.  She’s amazing.  She’s a tri-lingual, Canadian special-needs teacher.  She’s tough, but sweet (and calls out the Bachelor when he does something crappy-which is rare on this show).  My money is on her for the “win,”  but she’s not actually on my team, so I have mixed loyalties.vanessaHer style is effortless, comfortable, and undeniably chic.  I think she’d rock a simple cardigan like this- actually, I think I might have seen her wear one very similar in the last couple episodes.

BlueSand Cardigan by La Maison Rililieblausand_jacke-42_copy_copy_medium21Then, we come to Corinne.  Corinne is this season’s “villain,” but she’s kind of amazing.  She says she’s the 24-year-old owner of a “Multi-million-dollar business,” but really she’s a model/Instagrammer who goes by the nickname “Corn” and has a nanny.  She’s pretty immature (which is what gets her into trouble on the show), but I’m sure she’s less of a villain in real life.  She’s just a privileged weirdo who’s a little self-absorbed and self-conscious, which comes out as being pushy and unpleasant.  But, I like the girl, nonetheless (and she’s earned my fantasy team about a bajillion points, which is something I really like).cornAnd for my dear Corn, I’d have to make her a super cute sundress/bikini cover-up.  Everyone on this show spends about 3/4 of their time in swim suits, and Corn spends even more time in them than anyone else.  I think she’d totally wear this super cute tunic- though she would have to be careful of weird crochet tan lines.

Beach Tunic by Annelies Baes (Vicarno)white_beach_tunic_medium21Now you know my deep, dark secret.  So what’s yours?  What’s your secret guilty pleasure?

Inspiration: Cheering Up

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I got some pretty cruddy news today, and I find myself in a bit of a funk.  (Don’t worry, I’m not dying or anything, just disappointed.)  So, what’s a girl in my position to do?  Nothing productive, surely.  That would make too much sense.

I know, I’ll go trolling through my Ravelry Queue.

I’m sure you’re Queue looks like mine… hundreds of random patterns you’ve collected over the years, half of which you don’t even remember adding.  But, the one thing they all have in common is that they are all patterns I like.

So, in an effort to cheer me up, let’s look at pretty patterns from my queue.

This sweater has apparently been on my Queue since 2009.  I still love it, seven years later.  I’d wear the heck out of this cardigan- a zipper, stripes, and a hood?  It’s like it was designed for me.  Love it!  (Actually knitting it up, with all those stripes… all those ends… *shiver*)

Staccato by Kristen Kapur

2458554061_dfe8208157_z[1]This little wisp of a shawl is too beautiful for words.  But I’ll try anyway.  I don’t think I’d ever actually wear it (I don’t think it’d go too well with jeans and flannel), but it’s so pretty, I kind of want to make it.  Don’t you just love the way they incorporated the corner increases into a lace pattern.  I’ve tried to design something similar, and it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Growing Flowers by Mia Rindejan_2012_224_medium2[1]These little girls are just too cute, too.  And!  They have teeny tiny clothes!  Little dresses, skirts, sweaters, and shawls.  I could just eat them up.  Delightful!

Mary, Millie, and Morgan by Susan B. AndersonDSC_8359_medium2[1]I’ve loved this sweater since last year when I saw a whole table of ladies wearing them at a knitting conference.  It’s just the cutest, with perfect 3/4-length sleeves and a hem that falls at the natural waist, perfect for paring with full, 50’s-style skirts.  And those cables!  Just adorable.  Someday, Chuck, you will be mine.

Chuck by Andi Satterlundchuck01_medium2[1]Well, I’m feeling a bit better already.  There’s something very calming about scrolling through pages of beautiful patterns.  Ahhh…

Do you have an out-of-control Ravelry Queue, too?  Do you have any favorite patterns stashed away for “someday”?

Inspiration: The Killing

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I’ve been spending my November holed up away from the damp Seattle weather watching a TV show about the damp Seattle weather.  Because, why not!

It’s one of my new favorite TV shows:  The Killing.  (It’s not new, I’m just late to the party.)   Based on a Swedish show of the same name (but in Swedish… or at least I assume it’s the same name.  I don’t speak Swedish), The Killing is basically the show for people who think Law & Order: SVU is too light and funny.

Luckily for me, I am one of those people.

But, of course, the best part of the Killing isn’t the twisty-turny plot, the great acting, or the insanely brutal crimes.  The best part is Detective Sarah Linden’s amazing sweaters.  How amazing are they?  So amazing.mirielle2I have never seen a woman on TV rock the oversized sweater/puffy coat combo as well as Sara Linden.  mirielle1It’s kind of incredible.mirielle5This one even looks hand-knit!mirielle3I think Sarah Linden might be my spirit animal.  (As far as dressing goes.  She doesn’t smile nearly enough to be my true spirit animal.)

Want to channel your inner chain-smoking, crime-fighting, misanthrope?  Try knitting up one of these over-sized beauties.

The Killing Snowflake Sweater in Fritidsgarn by SKD Yarnsimage_medium[3]Flugeldar by Kiyomi Burginflugeldar8_medium2[1]#224 Weekend Pullover by Diane Soucy224_medium2[1]

Blocking: Sweaters

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You understand how to block something simple (a scarf, a coaster, or maybe even a blanket).  Now, it’s time to do something more complicated.  Something with sleeves.

Let’s block a sweater!  (In this case, a baby sweater, but the same process works for a grown-up sweater, too.)

We’ll start by soaking the sweater in a bowl of warm water for 10-20 minutes.  Make sure it’s nice and soaked through.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen, just like last time, roll it up in a nice clean towel and squeeze out most of the moisture.  Put out your foam tiles and cover them up with a new clean, dry towel.

Lay out your sweater as best you can  to roughly the right proportions.  When you’re working with a grown-up sized sweater, it can be kind of tricky.  Don’t worry if you don’t get it right away-we’ll rejigger everything in a minute.  Just eyeball it.

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Now, it’s time to measure the sweater and make sure it ends up the size you want it.  Begin with the chest measurement.  Now, since this is a baby sweater, I want the chest to be 9 inches across.

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Close enough.

Now that the chest measurement is about right, I’ll stretch out the body to the right length,  double-checking that the chest measurement doesn’t get stretched out of shape.

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(Did you notice how I’m not using pins for this sweater?  That’s on purpose.  I try not to use pins on sweaters, because they can create little points and weird bumps on a garment like this.  And, in the case of this particular sweater, I’m not far off from my desired size, so I can just stretch the sweater a little bit and count on the friction between the yarn and the towel to keep it in shape.  If I was trying to use blocking to fix something, I would use pins.  For example, if I needed to add more than an inch to the body length, I would stretch the wet sweater out with pins.)

The body is all arranged correctly, so now let’s do the same thing with the sleeves.

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These sleeves should be about 6 inches long. With the sleeves, it’s really important to make sure both sleeves match one another- no one likes lop-sided sleeves.

Once your sweater has the right measurements, stop fussing with it!  Just leave it!  (And make sure any kids/dogs/cats/gremlins you have running around your house don’t mess with it, either.)

Something small, like this baby sweater, won’t take long to dry, but big, adult sweaters can take a while (especially if you live somewhere humid).  So, to speed the process along, try pointing a fan at it for a day or two.

Once the sweater is completely finished, put it on and do a twirl in front of the mirror, admiring your awesome work!

 

Inspiration San Diego

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I just got back from a trip to San Diego with my husband and his family.  We ate a lot of good food, drank a lot of good beer, and generally had too much fun.  (I’m a little crispy around the edges, even though I spent half my time applying and re-applying sunscreen.  I guess that’s what happens when you take a white girl from Seattle and put her on a beach in southern California.)

We spent the week beach combing, (attempting to) body surf, and generally being beach bums.  And as nice as the weather was in the daytime (70s and 80s-sorry everyone in the Great White North!), the evenings got quite chilly.  You need a sweater at night in San Diego.

Luckily, I specialize in sweaters.  Let’s take a look at some beach-appropriate sweaters that I will definitely be knitting before my next trip south.

This light pullover would be perfect for wearing on your morning walk, sipping coffee and examining the beach for treasures that washed up overnight.

San Diego Pullover by Kimberly K. McAlindin

tcb_197_medium2[1]This sweater should be worn while sipping margaritas and eating guacamole at an outdoor cafe overlooking the ocean.

California Dreamin’ by Ilga LejaCalifornia_Dreamin__Main_Image_medium2[1]

And this is the sweater I want to wear while sitting around a campfire on the beach, listening to the waves and looking at the stars.

driftwood by Isabell Kraemer

DSCN0355_medium2[1]What knitwear do you like to pack when you travel?